Let's Not Jump to Conclusions
by Acropen
Summary: Wally West is just an ordinary college student with no powers but has a powerful enough crush on a waitress in Gotham that, much to the annoyance of his best friend, Dick, he often uses their zeta tubes to visit her. But one day in an alley he finds out that she's more than just a waitress. ((Originally written as a one-shot but it shows promise so I might hold it for the future))
"You know, Wally. Most college students study in a coffee shop. NOT in a downtown diner in Gotham." Wally took a quick swig of his coffee with an eyebrow raised, provoking Dick to go on with his point. Dick sighed and raised both his brows in disbelief that he had to point it out, "You live in Keystone City, Wally."

Wally settlled his cup down onto the table, "Is it illegal to visit my best friend every now and then?"

Dick lifted his own cup, "It wouldn't be such a big deal if your _every now and then_ wasn't every fortnight." Wally's eyes swept through the diner as Dick took a sip of his drink. "Seriously, Wally, don't you have lectures in the morning?"

"YeahNoAttendance," his best friend quickly mumbled as he turned to the empty booth behind him. Dick rolled his eyes at the obvious motive behind Wally's every visit. "Where is she?"

"You looking for Blondie?" called out a pale man who was serving the booth next to them. He didn't wait for either of them to reply. He's seen Wally at the diner enough times oggling at the blonde waitress. "She quit yesterday."

"What!" Wally shouted loud enough that he stole the attention of the whole diner. He meekly raised a hand up in apology, earning grumbled annoyances from the other customers. The pale man rolled his eyes at the red-head.

"What my friend here means to say," supplied Dick before the pale man walked away, "Why did she quit?"

The pale man shrugged, "Not sure. But I think it had something to do with some other red-head who came here last week." This immediately made Wally tense. The pale man saw this and he walked over to them. He took a quick look at the kitchen before he leaned down towards Wally and whispered, "He was carrying a baby."

The pale man was loud enough for Dick to hear and he watched his best friend's fingers grip the ends of the table. Wally's shock was quickly replaced by annoyance. He stared ahead as Dick addressed the pale man, "That's enough, man. Thanks."

The pale man shrugged before he left. Dick took a long sip of his coffee while he watched Wally. His best friend was biting the inside of his cheek, "Wa-"

"She has a baby." Wally stared at Dick, "I'm here like everyday." His eyes widened and he slowly leaned in towards Dick so he can hear him whisper in a high tone, "How'd she hide her baby bump?"

Dick almost choked at the thought process of his best friend. He shifted the mug away from his lips, "That's why we shouldn't do what he did, and jump to conclusions." Wally groaned and slumped into his seat. Dick watched his friend pout, "If it helps, I don't think she's that kind of girl."

Wally thought this over but the image of his long-time crush with a baby, with another red-headed man, made him groan. He's had a crush on her since the first night he and Dick snuck out to watch Gotham Academy's final football game. They ended up at the diner because Wally was paying and this was the cheapest venue in the area. Wally had always imagined having a family with her the moment she said, 'It's on the house.'

Dick waited but his best friend never gave him a response, "Alright, I think that's enough studying for the day." He settled his cup down and straightened the collar of his jacket.

Wally watched his best friend stand up, "We didn't even study."

"Wally, come on. Were you really planning on studying?" Dick walked out of the booth and pointed at the spot next to his friend, "You didn't even bring a single book."

Wally stared at the vacant spot and had no choice but to agree. He stood up next to Dick, "Fine. What do you wanna do now?"

"I," Dick stressed, "have work to do."

Wally nodded, taking the hint that Batman needed his assistance with a case that night. "Is it about the two new hitters you saw last week?" Wally quietly asked while they exitted the diner.

"Mhm." Despite Bruce's blatant distaste for Dick always informing Wally of their new cases, Dick have asked his best friend for help when they were against meta humans. On multiple occasions his internship at S.T.A.R. Labs have helped them construct contingency plans against these super-powered villains, in exchange, of course for Wally's use of the zeta tubes. "The thing is though," Dick whispered once they were outside, "we only saw them come into the city with some sort of package but it's been a week and they haven't made any movement."

"Odd.." Wally supplied while he rubbed his chin in thought. He watched his best friend stare at him with furrowed brows, "You look like there's something you haven't told me."

Dick pursed his lips before he answered in an even lower voice, "One of them, the guy with the bow, was a redhead."

Wally's eyes widened, and his next words were in a warning tone, "Dick, you can't be–"

"I know," Dick waved off his own suspiscions, "The trail's just gone so cold that we're desperate, Wally. It was just strange that she gets visited by a red-head and then she quits a few days later."

Wally narrowed his eyes at Dick, "Didn't you say not to jump to conclusions?"

Dick ran his hand through his hair and gave Wally a small smile, "I remember." He shook his head before he turned to Wally, "But you," he said, eyeing him, "should go home and actually study."

Wally groaned. "Ugh. Don't remind me, mom." Dick laughed at his friend before patting his back. He gave Wally one last advice not to overthink about her quitting before he left.

Wally waited for Dick to cross the street before he headed deeper downtown to the nearest zeta tube. He took a quick look around before he entered the alley. He suddenly felt another presence but he quickly shrugged it off when he saw a cat cross his path. "Don't overthink, Wally," he whispered to himself.

His hand was on the handle of the old decripit phonebooth when he heard a low groan. He quickly turned around and searched the alley. He heard a rustle among the cardboard boxes beneath the fire escape. "I swear to god," he walked towards the pile, "if that's you, Dick" He stared at one of the boxes with a red stain on it, "Oh god," and blonde hair sticking out.

He knelt down and quickly lifted the cardboard box and a knife lifted to his neck, "Scream and I'll cut you." Her face was so close that her breath brushed against his skin. She wore a green oriental dress, and a black wig and cheshire mask laid by her side. He saw her hand on the knife waver and noticed her other hand desperately clutching her side. Blood seeped through the fabric on her upper torso.

He made to move but the knife pressed harder to his neck. She was glaring at him. He narrowed his eyes at her, "Let me help you," and in a lower voice, "Please."

The disorientation from having fallen from her fainting spell was slowly leaving her and she recognized him. Hesitantly, she brought down the knife and lied down on her back. Wally watched her wince and slowly he touched the hand on her torso. She immediately glared at him but Wally stared back, "I need to see it."

"It was an arrow," she supplied, hoping he didn't have to touch it. "I broke the rest off but the head's still inside." She winced when Wally gently tried to pry off her fingers. He loosened his grip on her hand and pleaded in a whisper, "Let me see."

Artemis stared at him. He was a civillian. She didn't want him to get involved, but she could feel herself loosing more blood. She lifted her hand and closed her eyes. She felt Wally's finger lightly touch the side of her wound. He was careful not to put pressure on it.

"I need to pull it out," he said.

"If you pull it out," she winced, "I'll bleed to death–"

"Unless we stitch it up–"

"We don't have any–"

"I have a friend–"

"No." She grabbed his hand and squeezed it, "no." He stared at her and she stared back, "No more. I don't want anyone else to get hurt."

Wally watched her eyes close and her hand covered the crease on her forehead. Her shoulders trembled and Wally instinctively soothed her head, "Hey, hey. It's going to be OK. No one else is going to get hurt."

She brought her hand down her face, rubbing the tears away from her eyes, "They came after him yesterday," she choked out. Wally's hand stilled. She stared at Wally, "They shot Roy with a poisoned arrow," she watched his eyes, hoping he'd understand the gravity of her destination.

Wally tried as hard as he could to shake the impending thoughts away. All their suspicions from before were slowly being confirmed, and there were still so many questions he needed an answer to, but what she said suddenly dawned on him, "Is this arrow poisoned?"

Her eyes widened. She had been too busy thinking about her family. "I–"

She didn't finish her sentence and Wally felt a lump in his throat. His gaze shot to the wound and he used his fingers to lightly lift the fabric. He couldn't feel himself breathe when he saw black veins patterned on her dark skin. He forced himself to take a deep breath and looked at her again, "You have to let me call my friend."

She grabbed his hand, "Don't–"

"My friend is Nightwing," he blurted out and he knew he was going to regret it, "he can get Batman to help you."

Artemis' eyes widened. Her side had been hurting this whole time and she didn't know how long she was passed out in that alley. Roy had been groaning in pain since last night. They needed help. She closed her eyes and laid her head down, but she didn't let go.

Wally breathed and quickly took his phone out. He dialed Dick's private line, his communicator's line. He picked up after one ring, "Wally?"

"Wing, I need your help."

"What's wrong–"

"I found her." He heard Dick moving, running, over the phone, "We're in the zeta alley near the diner. She's bleeding, Wing, and its poisoned."

"Tell him," she squeezed his arm, "It's snake venom.. from Nanda Parbat."

Wally's eyes widened. "That's the League's.." he muttered.

Dick heard both of them, and he suddenly stopped. There was a short pause before he started moving again, "Ok. I'll be there in ten. I have to get the antidote from the cave." Dick turned off his comm.

Wally heard the dial tone and pulled the phone down. He gaped at her, "Why is the League after you?"

She scoffed a little, "You almost sound like you know who they are." Wally didn't reply making Artemis frown. She was starting to doubt her assumptions about Wally being a normal civilian. A normal civilian wouldn't have connections to Batman or his partners.

She sighed. She could trust him. She needs to trust him. "My sister, Jade, and her husband, Roy, were members of the League. They've worked for them for years but Nanda Parbat wasn't an ideal place.. for a family. They couldn't live by their rules anymore, so they ran away," she paused to look at Wally.

"Now the League is after them," Wally finished. Artemis weakly nodded. He knew nobody was ever allowed to leave the League unless it was in a body bag. Wally couldn't stop the questions anymore. "The red-head archer," he started, "he's Roy?"

"Red Arrow," she nodded. "And my sister's Cheshire," she closed her eyes, " and Lian is their baby daughter." Wally almost felt his heart leap. She opened her eyes and turned to the mask on the floor. "I was trying to lure them away."

"By pretending to be your sister," he supplied. She smiled. She'd do anything to keep her family safe. "And you," Wally said, "what's your assassin name?" trying to lighten the mood.

She laughed. "I'm not part of the League. I mean," her laughter slowly subsided, "Our father trained us to one day join the League but I ran away from home when my mom went to jail." He smiled at Wally, "I started living on the streets when I was 8."

Wally didn't know how to reply. He just stared down at her wound and regretted his doubts about her. She squeezed his arm again, making him look at her, "My name's not Blondie by the way."

Wally laughed, "Of course, I knew that."

She smiled, "I'm Artemis."


End file.
